Skincare, Make Up, Nails & Misc

Dec 3, 2013Jan 24, 2014

Liz Earle Cleanse & Polish – Grapefruit and Patchouli Limited Edition

Grapefruit and Patchouli Limited Edition

Liz Earle released a Limited Edition 150ml cleanse & polish back in August from memory but it was not something that came onto my radar until mid to end of September. I have personally always had a really good cleansing routine but my mum has not which bugs me somewhat as I cannot bare the thought of the skin not having a decent cleanse each day. So since the end of the summer I have been trying to gently encourage my mum to cleanse & tone her skin, the easiest way for me to do this is by doing a twice weekly ‘facial’ hoping that she get the bug for it. I tend to use the original Liz Earle cleanse & polish which I bought her for Christmas last year & she loves the way her skin looks & feels afterwards so that is a great start but she still hasn’t managed to start a routine of her own yet but this will be work in progress but as she is showing an interest so that is good.

Recently my mum discovered an old L’Occitane shower wash which was fragranced with patchouli & she told me how much she enjoyed the scent so I decided that I would get her the Limited Edition cleanse & polish for Christmas. The product arrived & I popped it away for safe keeping but I kept thinking to myself what’s if she does not like the smell, what happens if the grapefruit is too overpowering & just ruins the experience for her, but I could hardly open hers up & try it then pop it back away again so I made the decision that I would have to get one myself to try. I had recently got into another brands cream cleanser which I adored so I knew it would be quite interesting to see how this compared & also to the original cleanse & polish which I have to admit is not a smell I enjoy but that is just my personal opinion as I know there are lots of people out there who do enjoy the smell.

So my first impressions were I loved the smell, I was concerned the grapefruit would be overpowering but surprisingly it is not, the two fragrances blend really well together & I find it quite an enjoyable experience especially when I come back to my face cloth the next day & it’s still fragranced even after being rinsed out the previous day, so the fragrance for me is an absolute winner. The texture has taken a while to grow on me as it does not seem as thick / creamy as the original & the other brand I have been using it kind of felt a little watery if you understand what I mean but over time I do not tend to notice it anymore.

The one thing that did concern me though was the tingling on my skin, I normally leave a cleanser to work its magic for a minute before removing it but I found I had this irritation on my skin a slight burning sensation which was odd for me as I do not have sensitive skin I am a combo girl but I put it down to me trying a new product & a brand I hardly use so it was just my skins way of readjusting to the new ingredients I think. It only happened a few times but now my skin is fine with no reactions at all which is a relief as I have genuinely fallen in love with this product.

At the time of me making the purchase for myself Liz Earle had run out of stock completely though I was buying mine from QVCUK it made me very aware that stock was not going to be readily available forever as the Limited Edition Rose & Lavender cleanse & polish sold out everywhere very quickly last year, I wish I had purchased one or two myself now! So with this being in the back of my mind & me now being a fully qualified stockpiler I needed some more before the stocks ran dry because if my mum also falls in love with it & we can no longer get this it will be quite disappointing. I have since gone on to buy another 3 spares for myself so I think I am satisfied enough that have plenty of Liz Earle cleansers to fulfil my needs. Ironically now QVCUK have run out of stock completely & Liz Earle has just announced they have rushed in some more stock so if you have heard about this cleanser & missed out or you already have it & like me want to stockpile a little you can get it here Cleanse & Polish™ Grapefruit and Patchouli Limited Edition – Cleanse, tone & moisturise – Skincare. Just to add you get two free muslin cloths with the cleanser as well so you are good to go from the start.

This is definitely another cleanser I use as a treat rather than a daily cleanser just because I love the smell so much I do not want to rush through my bottles & get to the end of my stockpile I want them to last as long as possible so I can appreciate it for longer. I am so pleased I purchased this Limited Edition because I also love the smell of patchouli & cedar wood which is also an ingredient in fact I love it that much I have purchased some cedar wood pot pourri from Marks & Spencer to fragrance my room.

The following is taken from the Liz Earle website advising how to use the product & below that the yummy ingredients in the cleanser;

Cleanse daily, morning and night using this two-step process:

Step 1: Massage one or two pumps onto dry skin over face and neck twice a day.

Step 2: Rinse the pure muslin cloth in hand-hot water and wring out before gently wiping off the cream. Rinse and repeat.

Splash face with cool, clean water and follow with Instant Boost Skin Tonic and your choice of moisturiser.

Ingredients;

Clove leaf (Eugenia caryophyllus (clove) leaf oil)The spice clove is the dried flower bud of an evergreen tree, and is cultivated in Indonesia, as well as Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Madagascar and Zanzibar. Clove leaf essential oil has a slightly sweet, dry, woody note that is sometimes described as having a burnt, bread-like aspect. It is greener and less sticky than clove oils derived from bud and stem. The leaves used in Botanical Essence No.100 are sourced from Madagascar where they are a subsidiary crop of the spice production.

Patchouli Essential Oil (Pogostemon cablin)Patchouli has reviving and stimulating properties and is used by aromatherapists to help soothe skin and help calm stress. It is even reported to be a mild aphrodisiac! The sweet, spicy, heady odour of patchouli makes it a very popular fragrance ingredient.

Beeswax (Cera alba)The beeswax used in Naturally Active Skincare comes from the honeycombs in which bees store their pollen. It has skin protecting properties and helps to relieve chapped skin.

Eucalyptus Essential Oil (Eucalyptus globulus)Native to Australia, eucalyptus shoots are a favourite food of the koala. The cooling essential oil produced from the leaves and twigs has decongestant properties and is used by aromatherapists to ease muscular aches and pains.

Hops Extract (Humulus lupulus)This herbal extract comes from the pinecone-like fruit of the hop plant and has astringent and toning properties.

Mandarin Essential Oil (Citrus nobilis)Citrus reticulata (syn. C. nobilis), the mandarin orange, is a small to medium sized evergreen tree producing orange fruit with loose, ‘kid glove’ skins. Thorny, with slender twigs, the trees are transformed by fragrant white flowers in the early spring. From bloom to harvest takes between 6 and 10 months depending on where on the tree the fruit is: the closer to the outside of the tree the fruit is, the faster it ripens. Mandarin essential oil has an intensely sweet top note, with a rich, floral undertone reminiscent of neroli.

Grapefruit Essential Oil (Citrus grandis)The name grapefruit originated because the fruits grow in clusters that resemble grapes. An uplifting and reviving oil it is used by aromatherapists for detoxifying.

Vanilla Absolute (Vanilla planifolia)The familiar rich, warm scent of vanilla comes from the seedpods of a plant from the orchid family. Vanilla is believed to be calming and relaxing and to soothe feelings of anger, frustration and irritability. The flowers have to be pollinated by hand. When harvested, the seedpods are carefully cured for around six months to produce the distinctive odour, which makes vanilla extremely expensive and for this reason much of the vanilla used today is synthetically produced. We use only natural vanilla.

Cocoa Butter (Theobroma cacao)This rich, creamy butter which has moisturising effects on the skin is made from the roasted seeds of the cocoa tree, the same seeds that give us chocolate and cocoa.

Lavandin (Lavandula hybrida)Lavandin is a hybrid resulting from crossbreeding between lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) and Spike lavender (Lavandula latifolia) plants. These hybrids have a more vigorous growth habit and yield more essential oil than lavender. Lavandin oil is used for its fragrance which is similar to lavender but with more of a camphoraceous note.

Rosemary Essential Oil/Extract (Rosmarinus officinalis)This renowned and once sacred herb has been used for centuries in beauty preparations. Rosemary essential oil has a fresh pungent aroma and is very invigorating and stimulating. The extract has beneficial antioxidant properties.

Chamomile Essential Oil/Extract (Anthemis nobilis)This herb takes its name from the Greek kamai (ground) and melon (apple) because of the sweet apple-like fragrance it releases when trodden on. The essential oil is considered a gentle oil by aromatherapists and medical herbalists have used chamomile for soothing the skin for centuries.